Education is an important part of everybody’s life as a society who is not educated will not be able to think on rational lines. Education imparts such skills and tools to people which enable them to read, write, calculate and communicate. Such skills are very significant in modern time to navigate throughout the world. And for those sections of society which are economically backward, education is more important than the basic survival skills as it is the only way which can pave their way to development and prosperity. This has been proved right by Abhishake Meen, who is a son of NREGA worker. He formed a benchmark for those of his kind and with his hard work, got admission into IIT-Delhi. He was born and brought up on pulverulent areas of a village in Kota.
Till class X, he was completely unaware about the prestigious institution that IITs are and yet he became the first student from his village in Kota to clear his IIT-JEE entrance exam and scored 257th rank (reserve category) to grab a seat in IIT- Delhi this year. This 18-year old student is a resident of Chatrapura village in Etawa area of Kota district, is now a student of IIT-Delhi, pursuing Industrial Production in the Mechanical branch. His achievement not only brought pride to his family and relatives but has also become a ray of hope for the entire city and nation that you have to work hard and stay focused to bring every dream into reality.
Abhishake did his schooling from a Hindi-medium school in his village, excited over his achievement said, “When I obtained 72 % in Class X my school teachers suggested my father to send me to Kota for coaching and to prepare for IIT. It was then I came to know about IIT. I took coaching for only IIT and did self-studies for Class XII exams and obtained 83% marks. However, my friends and coaching faculty helped me by providing notes for the higher secondary studies.”
This was his second attempt but he did clear the first attempt as well. However, no colleges were allotted to him that time.
His father told sources that his family was totally dependent on the agricultural income from land and NREGA wages but that was not sufficient for their family. So, he had to lend money from a local lender to bear Abhishake’s coaching expenses at an interest of 2 %.
As a part of future plans, Abhishake hopes to pursue innovative research that can benefit people in the villages of India. “There is a huge talent in the villages and I would work to bring out the same with innovative engineering education,” he said.
Abhishake’s father, Ramdayal said, “I am overwhelmed with joy. I am very happy as my son has succeeded in the exam and has become the first IITan of the village.”
